2015 has been a year of understated performances, actors not necessarily making huge physical transformations to lose themselves in characters (though there are some, such as Jake Gyllenhaal for Southpaw). As we head into awards season there are not the same group of big, showy performances we usually expect. Some of these performances were recognised at last year’s Oscars (and in the case of Eddie Redmayne, winning), but I witnessed them all for the first time in 2015. Most of these performances have been praised by others than myself throughout the year, but in case we forget about them I wanted to remind you of how great they are. Maybe it will inspire you to catch up with the films if you missed them.

After the jump, find the long-list of my favourite performances of 2015. The actors are listed in rough order of how I experienced their work for the year, with some personal awards at the end: